Crate for water bottles or acid carboys



Oct. 26, 1948. 4 c. E. JOHNSON CRATE 'FOR 'WATER BOTTLES OR ACID .CARBOYS Filed 001;. '11,. 1944 Patented Oct. 26, 1948 .."CRATE*FOR-WATERBOTTLES R ACID "-CARBOYS eni ploy'ed fo'r mnann ier e glass bottles are con- -'str'ucted-"prineipally of wood, and the cost of -"=r'e'pa'-iring such crates constitutes an important factor in the sale and distribution of springand distilled -water.

ect the' produ'ction of a novel andefilcint crate ()I-rstructed of'light-weightmetal which maybe employedi0r-handling-large glass bottles or car- "boys;andis so designed as towithstand the trans portation' and storageroughing with less deterioration and at a lower cost.

A'- further *obj ect 'of the-present invention is 'o' provide a crate for an' acidcarboy, or other "-'s'imilar-'bottle"or container; which crate includes means for holding a cover or hood over the acid 2 Irrthe'"crate of-thepresent inventiong thecar- *boy or bottleis'held-ina rectangular frame which ncln'd's four" "corner posts of -chan'nel formation rectIyfinWa'rdly of the crate."-=Tcthebases of "the channel posts 'are" attached suitable hu irerin-gor cushioning material so that' the corner postshold the side "contact surfaces of *the c'rate,

' boyto be'received by "the crate? The "corner-posts of the crate are so"-corrrbineu*with the-horizontal elements as to form-handles'bymeans ofwhich the crate may-be"readily manipulated.

Associated with theicrateiproper, there is pro vided a retaining ringfindcover holding element etz'fdetaclrablez fronrxthex. wcrate'.- :z'IEhis. retaining. ring is detachable for installing the'bottle'orcarboy in the aerate, and-s-may- -later be-reattached to assist in'retainingthe bottle in the crate, and

includes means for holding the cover 'elenient i enclosing the neckofthebottle.

Thei =present invention-will be most fully unerstoo'd fromthe followingdescription or a pre- *The-prese'nt invention ha's'for its principal=ob-- which contact surfaces engage 'the b'ottl e or'car ferred'form or-example of the crate embodying" 13: 2 '4 corneraposts withwthe horizontal memberzattached 5 :thereto.

i-i-.R;eferring torthe drawings,.-vthe crateigcomprises :four corner-posts 2;-:whiclr:are of channel form 5. and may beimadewcfsheetmetal; theslbasesaof azthel channels: being. 1'1l1IllIedRinWaHd1m@IQWai'd!the 2: axis of the crate .and'; the; channels [being or sufmficient depth sorthat-the facesoithe channelseare at least as far:inward;andasgineant e fl xth crate asnanm of; t the; remaining; pertionl 0f .--s.the mcrate. Y -To the: inside faces,of.;=thel bases; of @the channels are attached buffer! strips 3 of suitable cushioning material zwh-ichtare ;intended-- for c ontacting-the'side lwalls ofithe-water bottles or-carboys to boa-received by; the {crate Near the top v of the: posts *a series of; apertures Aware provi'ded in the-bases of; the-posts; teach base-.being indicatedas being provided, with. :three of the ;apertures 4. 'Ifhegaper-tures L serve as a ,means for making detachable connections wbetween= t-he .body ofithe crate;and a ometalcretaining ring 5,,as

hereinafter moreparticularly.pcinteduout.

Thebaseof the crate is forme'd= by a metal .;.memberv 6,.vthe body ofwhich is in the form of a t flat annularflring' haying anwopening 'l of, considerably .smallerdi-ameter than the diameter of the bottle to be received in the crate. The ex- -terior. of, the flat body of'the memberfi. is of v. U general, squarejshape with channel openings, cut in the corners complementary to thecross-jsec- .tion. of the channels, of the post 2'." On thebase 1 B is positioned a bufie'r ring 8 of suitable padding material which "serves, toreceive'the'weight' of the bottle or acidncarboyi The base. member '6' is pro'videdwith fupturned flangesiila'an'd 9b; which "are beaded for stiffening purposes; as indicated .at I 0. One flange 9a at one end, as .viewed in Figure 1 3, is welded to "the edge of the left-hand-"ccrner 0' post 2; extends'hence tothe-right (itslower-edge being= joined-to'the' base of the: member liy until it reachesthei.-lower 'righthand -cornenpost 2 where it is welded to'the edge thereof, thenexltends. :across." saidozchannelpzlas indicated at-.;I4, =5 -andiszsweldedto the-other; edge of .the corner .npost 2. 1 The wflange; 9a them extends vertically,

its lower edge-j0ining;-the flat: body of the: mem- ..ber-6 until it reaches. the upper rightehand corvJner post 2.,. astshown insEigure 3, -where it is Welded to ,the edge.tthereof. The othenflange member 9b is Weldedat. one end to,,the .,upper right-hand corner post, as indicated, extends horiizontally to the left, as "indicated in'Figure 3, beingjoined at itslcweredge to the, flat; portion of the base member 6 until itreachesthe upper and 9b while the intermediate channels are left open. w

At the upper ends of the corner posts 2 there are provided horizontal members l2 and I3 of sheet metal, the lower edges-of the members being turned up, as indicated at 14a, to provide a rounded surface.

The horizontal members [2 and 13 are complementary to the flanges 9a and 9b, and welded in a similar manner to the corner posts 2, portions Nb of the horizontal members 12 and I3 bridging the corner posts, as indicated in Figure 1.

The two corner posts 2 which are not bridged by the flanges 9a and 9b of the base 6 are likewise left clear by-thetop horizontal members I2 and I3, whereas the intermediate corner posts 2 are bridged by these horizontal members. By this form of construction it will be seen that the portions Mb of the top horizontal members bridging the channel of the two diagonally opposite corner posts 2 and being rounded at their lower edges as shown at Ma serve as an excellent handle, by means of which the crate may be manipulated. In a similar manner, the portions M of the flanges 9a and 9b which bridge two of the diagonally opposite corner posts 2 serve as additional handles for the crate.

At the upper end of the crate there is provided a frusto-conical or slightly dome-shaped curved retaining ring 5 which is provided at its lower rim with four pins l5. Retaining ring 5 is sufficiently flexible so that the pins 15 are adapted to be selectively received in the apertures 4 in the corner posts and when so received the retaining ring 5 is attached to the frame of the crate. v The series of apertures i on each corner post 2 provide a means for adjusting the height of the retaining ring 5 injorder to accommodate bottles of different sizes.

The retaining ring 5 is provided with a plurality of pivoted clips 16 nearthe upper rim of the ring, which pivotedclips it are adapted to engage the lower rimof a metal cap 11 suitably shaped for enclosing thev neck of a bottle or acid carboy received in the crate.

It has been found that the crate herein described may be very economically constructed and that it is greatly superior to the present wooden crate, particularly in that the rate of deterioration of the. crate is very much less than that of the wooden crates. The crate of the present invention enables an important reduction in the cost of, as Well as" in the distribution of, liquids in large bottles, and-also safeguards and protects the shipment in'transit.

While the specific form of the crate herein described for the purposeof illustrating the invention is well adapted to carry out the objects of the present invention, it should be understood that various modifications andchanges may be made, and this invention is of the scope of the appended claims. v

I claim:

1. A crate for a bottle comprising a frame formed of metal and including four corner posts having bases and side portions arranged to form a channel-shaped section, the bases of the posts being turned towards the interior of the frame and adapted to serve as contact members for the bottle to be received by the crate, a base for said frame-having flanged portions connected to said corner posts, upper horizontal members for said frame connected to said corner posts, said horizontal members bridging the side portions of two diagonally opposite corner posts to cooperate therewith in providing handles for manipulation of said crate.

2. A crate for a bottle comprising a frame formed of metal and including a base plate having upturned flanged portions, four corner posts having bases and side portions arranged to form a channel section, the bases of said posts being turned inwardly of the frame to serve as contact members for the bottle to be received by said crate, the flanged portions of the base being united to said posts, and upper horizontal members interconnecting said posts and bridging the side portions of two diagonally opposite posts to cooperate therewith in forming handles for said crate.

3. A crate for a bottle comprising a fram formed of metal and including a base and four corner posts secured to said base, said corner posts having bases with side portions arranged to form a channel section, with the bases of said posts turned inwardly of the frame so as to act as contact members, each of said corner posts having a plurality of vertically spaced apart openings near their upper ends formed in the base of each post, and a retaining ring having a detachable connection with such openings of said corner posts.

4. A crate for a bottle comprising a metal frame including a base member, four corner posts united to said base member, said corner posts having bases and side portions arranged to form a channel-shaped section, with the bases of the posts turned inwardly of the frame to provide contact-supporting members for the water bottle to be received by said frame, upper horizontal members interconnecting said posts, and a retaining ring having a plurality of extensions, and a plurality of apertures in said corner posts for providing detachable connections for said extensions of said retaining ring.

CARL EUGENE JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 333,455 Euans Dec. 19, 1885 524,193 Dann Aug. 7, 1894 1,452,971 Ho des Apr. 24, 1923 1,462,672 Weatherby July 24, 1923 1,427,525 Felten 1 Aug. 29, 1922 1,965,726 Smith July 10, 1934 2,036,876 Kraft Apr. '1, 1936 2,044,048 Boeye June 16, 1936 2,330,982 Martin et a1. Oct. 5, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 362,516 Germany Aug. 23, 1921 

